Eating Disorder Information and Statistics

The term 'Eating disorder' has become a usual term for us as many children, teens and adults around the world suffer from these disorders. Bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, anorexia nervosa and Eating Disorders Not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS) are the common abnormal and unhealthy eating habits that lead to severe health risks at many times. Various statistics related to eating disorders reveal that 70 million individuals around the world fall prey to these habits and 17-18 percent of them are Americans. Unhealthy eating habits, sedentary lifestyle and social and cultural pressure are the primary causes of these disorders. Many times a sufferer does not have any treatment and as a result becomes vulnerable to serious diseases. So it is necessary that you know the signs, symptoms and treatment processes in order to curb the disease.

To understand the seriousness of eating disorders, you may have a look at the following information:

• Statistics on the increase of eating disorder show that these disorders are rising among the teenagers. Almost 95% of the sufferers are aged between 12 and 25. Again 50% of the girls between 11 years and 13 years consider themselves to be fat. Not only this, 13% of them have tried to reduce weight.
• As stated earlier many Americans fall prey to these abnormal eating habits. Studies reveal that 1 in 200 American women suffer from anorexia, 2 in 100 American women suffer from bulimia nervosa and almost half of all the Americans know someone who are affected with these habits. Around 2-5% of Americans develop bing-eating habits in a 6 month period.
• Almost half of the people who had anorexia develop bulimic patterns or bulimia at a later stage.
• The statistics of eating disorder also focus on the age when people started experiencing the disorders. These statistics reveal that 86 % people report that they developed abnormal eating habits before they turned 20, 43% people said that they developed the same habits between the age of 16 and 20 and 33% said it started between 11 years and 15 years.
• The mortality rates related with anorexia nervosa, the third most common chronic illness in adolescent women, are 12 times higher than the mortality rates related with all the other causes of death for women aged between 15 years and 34 years.
• 10-15% of persons suffering from anorexia nervosa or bulimia are men. Usually men don't go for treatment perceiving that these are 'woman's diseases'.
• Studies on access to treatment reveal that only 1 in 10 individuals are treated.
• In Japan eating disorders are one of the most common psychological problems affecting young females.

  After knowing these statistics related to eating disorder, we hope that you understand how seriously the abnormal eating habits are affecting people around the world. You must remember that these statistics are the results of some sample study; the actual results may vary.